Happy Birthday, Jack! Celebrating 75

by Renee on May 11, 2020

Today my father, Jack McAuliffe, is 75 years old! Jack was born in Caracas, Venezuela because his father, John McAuliffe, was working in South America to crack codes for the FBI during WWII. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover sent a letter of congratulations to the McAuliffes on the occasion of Jack’s birth. It was an auspicious beginning for Jack, who later lived in suburban Washington, D.C. during his youth. His parents sent him to a Maryland boarding school, where he met my birthmother, Linda. I was born in Washington, D.C. the year after Jack and Linda graduated high school. I was adopted by a loving couple, and while I wouldn’t meet Jack for many more years, when I did, I said I knew that beer was in my blood!

Today Jack is living in a home for U.S. Veterans because of some health challenges he’s had recently. He’s doing well and during this time of COVID-19 quarantine, he misses his friends at the Creekside Tavern in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Since his appearance at the Smithsonian’s opening of the “Brewing a Revolution” exhibit in November, he’s shaved his beard, and has had to stop drinking. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said he’d like vector maps–a nod to his time as a small aircraft pilot. So, that’s what I sent him!

Here in Ohio, things are slowly opening up, though I am not in a hurry to go back to retail establishments. However, I would love for our weather to break so I could at least sit on a patio at a brewery. I had my kids over one particularly nice weekend, and we sat outside and had some Bomba tacos and guac at a socially acceptable distance.

Spring keeps rushing toward summer. The wrens in my front door wreath flew the nest. Mother’s Day came and went. Porter and I continue to hit the trails on a daily basis, between my Zoom meetings and answering work emails. Not sure what summer will bring–it doesn’t look like there will be any concerts on the calendar, but small backyard gatherings may be okay. Meanwhile, it’s still virtual get-togethers for the most part. The Cleveland Craft Beer group on Facebook will host a happy hour this week that I plan to join.

Stay safe and healthy. And cheers to my Dad, the father of craft beer!